KAF holds Army 10-Miler shadow run

Photo By Sgt. Uriah Walker | Soldiers from Company A, 115 Signal Battalion after completing the Army 10-Miler Shadow Run, Oct. 6, 2012, in Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. There were more than 600 runners participating in the shadow run on Kandahar Airfield.  

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN

10.06.2012

Story by Sgt. Uriah Walker 

3rd Infantry Division

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - More than 600 multinational service members and civilian contractors participated in the Army 10-Miler Shadow Run here Oct. 6. The run was hosted by the Kandahar Airfield family and morale, welfare and recreation office ahead of the official race slated for Oct. 21, in Washington.

Staff Sgt. Joel Blackburn, a Buffalo, N.Y., native assigned to the 655th Regional Support Group, coordinated this year’s shadow run.

“We started planning this event in June,” said Blackburn. “The Army 10-Miler is the second largest 10-mile race in the [United] States.”

According to Blackburn, there were approximately 50 soldiers and contractors who flew into Kandahar Airfield for this race. One group of soldiers, which had never been to Kandahar Airfield before, arrived 30 minutes late to the start.

“They still wanted to do the run. I gave them the brief of the route, took their gear and they took off running and still finished before some of the other people that started before them.”

One group of soldiers, located at Combat Outpost IQ near the Iranian border, could not make it to Kandahar Airfield for the run, but that did not stop them from participating. They hosted their own shadow run, to coincide with Kandahar Airfield’s, and had seven soldiers participate.

“Their 10 miles wasn’t one full 10 mile route, it was actually 75 laps of their base. So God bless them for doing 75 circles around their AO,” Blackburn said.

The top three male and female finishers on Kandahar Airfield were as follows:

Females – 1,U.S. Army Cpt. Jodi Werkinoff, 45th STB, 1:08.25. 2, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Whitney M. Olson, 451 EAMXS/179 EFS, 1:13.37. 3, U.S. Navy Lt. Rebecca Root, Role 3, 1:13.58.

Males – 1, Scottish contractor Steven Laidler, Sodexo, 58:14. 2, U.S. Army 1st Lt. Robert J. Anderson, DCG-M KLE Officer, 1:01.07. 3, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Russell Garner, 62 ERS/Det 2, 1:02.14.

• Date Taken: 10.06.2012
• Date Posted: 10.09.2012 01:48
• Story ID: 95868
• Location: KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF